Sleep Tight
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: Sue manages to get Reed to sleep after a hard day.


Reed couldn't help feeling that he had failed. Their recent rescue attempt had been going extremely well, with no one injured and nothing really damaged in terms of government property, but fate, it seemed, had other ideas, and now, their attempts had claimed another victim in the form of a civilian man.

He stood at the edge of the balcony, gazing out into the horizon. He had to get out of the lab, away from the experiments that reminded him what had happened to the unsuspecting father, whose child had been injured also. Somehow, he had ended up doing what Sue did when she was upset, and was basking beneath a what was a glorious sunset. She was right, it did feel slightly better, but there was still and empty space inside of him that was unfilled, unchanged by the faint appearance of stars in the deeper sky.

"If I knew any better, Reed, I'd say you were pretending to be me."

He didn't have to look up to know who it was, but he did anyway. He tried to give her a smile as she came to stand barefoot beside him, her pyjamas on as she was ready for sleep.

"Of course," She continued before he got a chance to speak. "That would mean that I was you, and I'd be telling you to rest."

He managed a smirk at that, remembering the conversation they'd had when they'd returned from the somewhat failed rescue attempt. She'd exerted her powers to new extremes, and it had left her feeling weakened that afternoon.. "It's for your own good, Sue." He said quietly. "You need rest."

Silently, she slipped her hand into his - a notion he was becoming more and more used to. They hadn't become open with their deepening relationship yet, but it was becoming hard to fight it, especially when there was always someone looking. "So do you." She replied so quietly that she could barely be heard over the sound of traffic far beneath them.

Reed shook his head to argue. "I have-"

She interrupted him. "More important things to do?" He tried to argue his point again but she stopped him by turning to face him. "What can you do if you collapse from exhaustion?" She asked him. "There are too many people who are going crazy with the amount of work they do, Reed, I don't want you to become one of them."

He shook his head. "I need to do something, Sue."

Following his lead, she shook her head too. "You need to help yourself first."

Reed sighed. "Why?"

"Because _I _need you." She stated simply. "We need each other. But whenever I find just a tiny bit of happiness in my life, there's always someone or something that destroys it. I can't lose you to yourself, Reed."

They were silent for a moment, and Reed met her eyes, seeing the concern in them. "I'm not going anywhere." He told her. "You'll never lose me." Her lips turned up at the corners into the smile he loved so much. "I promise."

She embraced him, and didn't care about anyone possibly looking. She felt his arms coming round her and holding her tightly, while his cheek came to rest on her golden hair.

When they parted, neither said a word, but Reed let himself be dragged back to his bedroom by his hand, and into the bed that he slept in, or rather, laid in staring at the ceiling. Sue all but forced him to lay down, and he didn't complain, but when she rose to leave, he pulled her back to him, making her lay beside him.

"Reed..."

"I'm not the only one who needs sleep, Sue. We both do." He reminded her, putting his arms around her and bringing her close against his body. He wrapped his arms around her multiple times, a secure hold that no one else could offer her, so that she couldn't leave.

"But Ben and Johnny..." She didn't want anyone to catch them out.

"If they see, they see. They'll find out sooner or later anyway." He told her. "Besides, I'm not ashamed of loving you...and...I'm way to comfortable now to let you go."

She grinned at his comments, and snuggled up close, feeling the ebbs of sleep pull at her, and they both fell into slumber, having more than the occasional good nights sleep.


End file.
